The present disclosure relates generally to alerting a vehicle operator to traffic movement, and more particularly, to detecting the presence of a preceding vehicle and alerting the vehicle operator when the preceding vehicle moves forward or departs the current lane.
When a vehicle that is traveling in a series of consecutive vehicles stops due to traffic lights or a traffic jam, the operator often fails to move the vehicle forward immediately (or within a short period of time) after the traffic light changes or the traffic jam is cleared. This failure to move the vehicle forward may cause further delays or traffic jams to occur.
Sensors (e.g., radar systems) have been developed for various applications associated with vehicles, such as automobiles and boats. A sensor mounted on a vehicle detects the presence of objects including other vehicles in proximity to the vehicle. In an automotive application, sensors can be used in conjunction with the braking system to provide active collision avoidance and/or in conjunction with an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system to provide speed and traffic spacing control. In a further automotive application, sensors provide a passive indication of obstacles to the driver on a display. The sensors may also be used in conjunction with vision cameras to provide further information about nearby objects or obstacles.
It would be desirable to have a mechanism for reminding the operator of a vehicle to move the vehicle forward immediately or shortly after a traffic light has changed or a traffic jam has been cleared. In addition, it would be desirable for the mechanism to utilize any existing sensors, vision cameras and human machine interfaces (dashboard, microphone) already located on the vehicle for detecting traffic movement and for alerting the operator of the vehicle that it is time to move the vehicle forward.